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Re: deeps vs mediums

I agree. Make your life simpler and just use one size. I happen to use deeps. I do not take off deeps full of honey. I have built a long box that rides on an all terrain wagon. I remove one frame at a time and place it in the box.

Re: deeps vs mediums

Before you decide, make sure you pick up a full deep from three boxes up.... I thought deeps would be fine. Then I grabbed a full deep at chest height... Now I have a bunch of deeps I wish I didn't have, so I've moved them all to the bottom brood box. It would have been nice if I had listened to Mr. Bush right out of the gate. I will slowly migrate to all mediums. Mediums cost more for the same amount of comb, but probably not as much as surgery on your back.. Even my 30 year old son who works in a warehouse for a living is glad to have the deeps only on the bottom brood box. Don't talk yourself into something you haven't tried. It's easy to think "I'm strong enough".

Re: deeps vs mediums

I love how many folks are planning on beekeeping well into there senior years.

Originally Posted by Kamon Reynolds

unless you have to have lighter equipment go deeps. cheaper and more importantly faster. I couldn't imagine going thru all the frames if they were mediums.

Finding the queen in a full honey production hive with mediums would be more time consuming not to mention on any other inspection or what not.

That being said there are those who love it and are doing well with it.

Is there any large operations running mediums? 500 colonies plus???

We run mostly 8 frame westerns (6& 5/8 inch frames). 8 frame works well for us... 20% more pollination units on every truck load. We also run a lot of mating nucs so a three box brood nest allows us to make more nucs up per hive. There are more pieces to work with... a liability for some but a real asset for us. Personally I have no difficulty finding the queens in these units, but I find queens for a living. According to Dr Seeley honeybees naturally prefer about a 40L brood nest cavity so keep this in mind when making your selection.

Re: deeps vs mediums

>Finding the queen in a full honey production hive with mediums would be more time consuming not to mention on any other inspection or what not.

First of all I try never to find queens unless necessary and it's hardly ever necessary. I manage my bees by the box in almost every way. But if I do have to find a queen, I can find her quicker in mediums. One swipe left to right is all it takes to tell if there is a queen. On a deep I have to go around at least twice because she could be moving as I cover the frame. After spending an entire day looking for queens in deeps after spending the day before looking for queens in mediums, I was struck how much easier it was on mediums.

Re: deeps vs mediums

That has not been my experience with mediums or anyone else I know either. Then what of swarm cells. It only stands to reason that for someone running a "fulltime" operation deeps only or a deep/medium operation would be the only time efficient practice. While you obviously can keep bees in mediums, bigger brood combs is what I always find in feral colonies. Many of those bigger than dadant deeps.

I like taking the old queen out and placing them in new splits and giving my honey production colonies early fall queens. Mediums are more frames more boxes to handle more frames to stick a queen and queen cells.

In my area I haul out pollen frames most years. Again more frames to grab. A simple compromise would be to haul out deep honey frames in a 4 frame nuc box instead of using more smaller equipment.

Unless there is a trick to it all common sense says it has lighter individual pieces, but is more work for the profitable beekeeper.

Re: deeps vs mediums

One can not escape the fact that if you are an intensive nuc operation one will be able to get way more nucs made from westerns/mediums. Most of our mating nucs are a two-way medium... 4 frames per side. I have seen no increase in swarm impulse in deeps V mediums. Our operation is focused on queen production first and foremost but we also do a lot of pollination.

Re: deeps vs mediums

Originally Posted by JBJ

One can not escape the fact that if you are an intensive nuc operation one will be able to get way more nucs made from westerns/mediums. Most of our mating nucs are a two-way medium... 4 frames per side. I have seen no increase in swarm impulse in deeps V mediums. Our operation is focused on queen production first and foremost but we also do a lot of pollination.

For example if your brood area is 10-frame two deeps versus 3 10-frame mediums one has 20 vs 30 frames to work with... that a lot more nucs and very efficient for us even with 8 frame units.

Re: deeps vs mediums

Who cares? The OP is obviously just starting out. If he's doing it as a hobby, he can do whatever he wants. If growing into a business, he'll have to do what works for the business.
I'm a hobby keeper and could care less how many frames or if I see the queen. Time is on my side!

Re: deeps vs mediums

I subscribe to the Deeper and Wider is better philosophy. I have been switching to 11 and 5/8th depth and 12 frames wide. Cost wise per box is about the same as deeps or mediums, but equipment wise I need much less per hive.

I don't get the lighter is better philosophy as a beekeeper. It is like a dairy farmer saying he should milk beef breeds because they milk faster.

Also if you are on all mediums and put on a medium super, which they fill in a week, but you can't add another one when you should due to weather or whatever... But your neighbor does the same thing with deep boxes and also gets delayed putting on the next super. What hive will make more honey?

Re: deeps vs mediums

I don't get the lighter is better philosophy as a beekeeper.

you can add 2 mediums instead of 1 deep and be in the same spot as your scenario. i'd think 16 mediums would do as much as 10 deep? but once you have full boxes you can lift them off individually easier. This is handy when you're not a big operation with many workers helping. Also good for people with limitations like shoulder/back injuries.

My reason is that all of my frames are the same size. I will be able to move frames to and from any of my boxes or nucs.

Re: deeps vs mediums

Originally Posted by bluegrass

I subscribe to the Deeper and Wider is better philosophy. I have been switching to 11 and 5/8th depth and 12 frames wide. Cost wise per box is about the same as deeps or mediums, but equipment wise I need much less per hive.

I don't get the lighter is better philosophy as a beekeeper. It is like a dairy farmer saying he should milk beef breeds because they milk faster.

Also if you are on all mediums and put on a medium super, which they fill in a week, but you can't add another one when you should due to weather or whatever... But your neighbor does the same thing with deep boxes and also gets delayed putting on the next super. What hive will make more honey?

Just keep this thread for the next 30 years and at the end of those 30 if you are still healthy and no back problems or knee problems let us all know if those deep and wide are still what you love.
Being in your 20s or 30's is tons of difference than 50's and 60's.
I wish I was still 10 feet tall and bullet proof! But I aint!!! I dont water ski or snow ski bronc or bull ride or work the shrimp, oyster, fish boats, or roughneck anymore. Wish I never had now but so is life.
I've been with the bees 63 years and plan on being with them more but their homes will all be in 8 frame mediums.